Jan 12th, 2013 Dakar Rally Stage 8 Race Info & Discussion

Join in and discuss all the action from Stage 8 of the 2013 Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon recorded his 3rd straight 3rd place finish in Stage 7, but remains 23rd overall. Gordon is still down over 5 hours in the overall, but will get yet another good starting spot in an attempt to win his first stage of the rally. The cars are slated to begin the special section of stage 8 at 12:05pm/et and Robby Gordon will begin his special section around 12:11pm/etam/et. Raceday chat will be available throughout the entire 2013 Dakar Rally. UPDATE: Stage 8 will now begin at KM288.

2013 Photos

STAGE 8 TRACKING

STAGE 8: SALTA > SAN MIGUEL DE TUCAMAN

Connection 379km | Special Stage 470km | Total 849km

COURSE OVERVIEW

The Tucuman route will be divided into two timed sections with a variety of scenery. With hoodoos, canyons and cacti, the competitors will discover the red and green backdrop of Argentina’s most beautiful natural landscape, which will unfold for more than 150 km creating a Western atmosphere. During the second half of the timed section, which will take place in a region completely unknown to the Dakar, the contrast will be apparent on the sandy and sometimes tricky tracks. It may also be manifested through the weather conditions, if the wind is combined with the high temperatures which ravage the region. The rest day will rarely have been more deserved, in particular for the motorcyclists who will finish their marathon stage..

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Permalink Reply by TOG on January 13, 2013 at 12:03am

Stage 9 thread will go up on mid afternoon on Sunday.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Martinez on January 13, 2013 at 1:25am

I just cant get over the messages in some music......Love the blues do I but ASO has their new theme song when it comes to certain foods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r1J0JY0bOo

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Permalink Reply by Ray Therat on January 13, 2013 at 10:30am

I hope you get a bit of a break, TOG. This has to be a marathon for you, just as it is for the competitors. At least I figger yer stayin dry and outta the sand. I know the thrash cuz I cover all salt flats events for a different website, uploading photos via cell phone tether/modem. Some awful long days there, too. Keep up the great work, bro.

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Permalink Reply by Chupakabras on January 13, 2013 at 1:27am

Love the photo of the Hummer in the header, just awsome! A million $ bed!

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Permalink Reply by Bob on January 13, 2013 at 4:27am

1:30 AM here in Oregon, and I still can't locate any final decision about stage 8 results @ dakar.com.

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Permalink Reply by David Z on January 13, 2013 at 6:48am

What really gets to me is in Stage 1, the Hummer got stuck for a few minutes but the down time was multiplied by 3, making it like it was stuck 3 times as long or 3 times on the stage. Yes, those were the rules going in, but hardly seems fair to compensate for a shorter stage. Why didn’t they just drive the loop 3 times?
Now Stage 8, Nasser gets his Buggly stuck, and is given all the time back because he couldn’t drive on.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kadlcak on January 13, 2013 at 8:28am

Status quo ante bellum for Stéphane Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah

Following the neutralisation of the car special in stage 8, the race officials have decided to award all the cars which still hadn't crossed the finish line at 4:24 pm the same time as Stéphane Peterhansel, i.e. 2 h 07'21". This means Guerlain Chicherit won his first special in the 2013 Dakar, with 4'02" to spare on Orlando Terranova and 5'17" on Robby Gordon. The gaps between Nasser Al-Attiyah and Giniel de Villiers, the two men behind Stéphane Peterhansel, and the overall leader remain the same: 3'14" for the second-placed Qatari and 44'03" for third-placed Giniel de Villiers.

this makes no sense to me at all. They just want PH to win this thing for the 4th time I guess.

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Permalink Reply by RICK ALDRIDGE on January 13, 2013 at 9:45am

Not really. If they wanted PH to win, they would simply DQ or penalize Nasser (which would probably make more sense and be fairer than what they did). What they really want is for the close overall 2 man race to continue, just like NASCAR, I suppose..

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Permalink Reply by Ray Therat on January 13, 2013 at 10:40am

Ya think they might call a debris caution on the final stage and then do a green-white-checker restart? LOL!

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Permalink Reply by RICK ALDRIDGE on January 13, 2013 at 1:47pm

Ray - it would have to be on the penultimate stage. Last stage is a parade, just like they do with the Tour de France.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Kadlcak on January 13, 2013 at 3:13pm

If they would go with CP9 (CP2 they called it in the first place) Nasser would be in the lead overall by 1.3mins or something. This is a weird decision.